Sporting News examines the biggest college hoops games of the weekend (all times ET): (Note: For more on the biggest game of the regular season—No. 1 Michigan at No. 3 Indiana on Saturday night—check out SN’s big-game preview.)

NO. 14 MIAMI AT NO. 19 N.C. STATE

The tip: Saturday, 4 p.m. (CBS)

Warm-up drill: The tone of this game changed dramatically on Friday afternoon, when N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried admitted what most Wolfpack fans had feared: Point guard Lorenzo Brown’s injured ankle likely will keep him from playing. The absence of State’s 6-5 junior floor leader — a leading candidate for ACC player of the year — puts Gottfried’s team at a distinct disadvantage. Forget, for a moment, about his impact on offense—he averages 12.7 points and 6.9 assists per game—and wonder how the Wolfpack will deal with Miami’s excellent backcourt combination of Shane Larkin and Durand Scott. If State sticks with man-to-man, Rodney Purvis and seldom-used freshman Tyler Lewis must play heavy minutes; T.J. Warren lacks the quickness to defend Larkin or Scott. Brown injured the ankle in the first half against Virginia on Tuesday, and with him out, State let a seven-point halftime lead slip away.

Inside stat: 115.2. For all the attention given to Larkin, Scott, Reggie Johnson and Kenny Kadji—and all are having excellent years—the Hurricanes player with the best offensive rating (according to kenpom.com) is senior Trey McKinney Jones, who has a 115.2 mark. He’s shooting a career-high 40.8 percent from the 3-point arc this season, and in his past five games he’s averaging 12.0 points and has turned the ball over just once in a total of 155 minutes.

NO. 16 OLE MISS AT NO. 4 FLORIDA

The tip: Saturday, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

Warm-up drill: The Rebels failed their biggest test of the season Tuesday, losing a home game against Kentucky. Next up, their new biggest test of the season, and it’s a doozy. There is not a more imposing task right now than to try and contain a Florida team that’s crushing opponents. The Gators’ defensive efficiency rating at kenpom.com is a ridiculous 79.1, easily best in the country. For comparison’s sake, here are the end-of-year leaders for the past five seasons:

2012: Louisville (84.0)

2011: Florida State (86.2)

2010: Florida State (84.5)

2009: Memphis (82.5)

2008: Kansas (82.8)

In other words, good luck Ole Miss.

Inside stat: 30.0. Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson has a knack for knocking down clutch, highlight-worthy 3-pointers. He’s not accurate from long range, though, and his 2-for-11 showing from 3-point range against Kentucky wasn’t an aberration. In seven SEC games, Henderson has made just 24-of-80 3-point attempts, a pretty anemic 30.0 percent (Missouri’s Jabari Brown also has made 24 3-pointers in SEC play but with 22 fewer shots.). Henderson has made more than half of his 3-point attempts in a game just once the entire season—he was 4-for-6 against Hawaii on Christmas Day.

OHIO AT AKRON

The tip: Saturday, 5 p.m. (ESPNU)

Warm-up drill: This is the game of the year in the MAC, at least until these two teams meet again Feb. 27 in Athens, Ohio. Each is perfect in MAC play (Akron 7-0, Ohio 6-0), and both have the ability to win a few NCAA Tournament games this March. Ohio, of course, did exactly that last season, knocking off Michigan and South Florida as a No. 13 seed before narrowly missing a berth in the Elite Eight with an overtime loss to No. 1-seeded North Carolina. Saturday’s winner will have the inside track on the top seed in the conference tournament, though that might not be a good thing. The No. 1 seed hasn’t won the MAC Tournament since Kent State in 2008.

Inside stat: 4.7. With senior point guard D.J. Cooper setting the tone for a pesky defense, Ohio leads the MAC with a turnover margin of plus-4.7 (18.4 created, 13.7 given up). The Zips, on the other hand, commit nearly as many turnovers per game (13.6) as they force (14.0).

NO. 25 MARQUETTE AT NO. 12 LOUISVILLE

The tip: Sunday, 2 p.m. (ESPN)

Warm-up drill: Even in their skid-stopping victory against Pitt at home on Monday, the Cardinals almost let a double-digit second-half lead slip away. That’s not a good sign heading into Sunday’s game because few teams exploit opponents with late-game confidence issues better than Buzz Williams’ Marquette squads. Louisville point guard Peyton Siva has struggled; his turnovers down the stretch helped fuel Syracuse’s comeback, and he has scored a total of just two points—and committed seven turnovers—in 63 minutes against Georgetown and Pitt.

Inside stat: 17.1. Marquette junior Vander Blue has played his best since the start of Big East play. He already was enjoying a breakthrough season, averaging 13.4 points during the non-conference portion of the schedule (he averaged 8.4 as a sophomore) but has played like a All-Big East player in league play. Marquette is 6-1 and tied for first place thanks in large part to Blue’s 17.1 points per game.

OVERTIME

Oklahoma State at No. 2 Kansas, Saturday, 4 p.m. (Big 12 Network, espn3.com). Kansas is 7-0 in the Big 12, but the Jayhawks aren’t exactly executing Florida-type domination against league foes. In five of those games, the opponents have been within three points in the second half. The Cowboys—led by future NBA first-round picks Marcus Smart and Le’Bryan Nash—pose a threat, even in Lawrence.

No. 5 Duke at Florida State, Saturday, 2 p.m. (ESPN). After the win against Maryland last weekend, several Duke players said they finally were figuring out how to play without power forward Ryan Kelly. But they struggled again on the road Wednesday, barely pulling out a victory at Wake Forest. The Seminoles are coming off yet another victory, against Maryland, that ended with a clutch shot from Michael Snaer.

No. 6 Syracuse at Pitt, Saturday, noon (ESPN). The Panthers nearly upset Louisville on the road Monday and now get their shot against the other Big East favorite at home. Syracuse hasn’t won at Pitt since 2004.

No. 10 Oregon at Cal, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Net/ROOT). The Ducks, who were hammered at Stanford (76-52) on Wednesday, face another difficult road game without freshman point guard Dominic Artis. Cal is 4-4 in the Pac-12, but the Golden Bears only have played three home conference games so far.

No. 18 Kansas State at Oklahoma, Saturday, 6 p.m. (ESPN2). If the Sooners can add Kansas State to an NCAA Tournament resume that already includes wins over Oklahoma State and Baylor, Lon Kruger’s team might start feeling better about an at-large bid. These teams met in Manhattan two weeks ago, and the host Wildcats won by nine.

No. 22 San Diego State at Air Force, Saturday, 3 p.m. (Time Warner Cable SportsNet). All of a sudden, Air Force looks to have a better shot at the NCAA Tournament than fellow MWC teams Boise State and Wyoming. A win at home against San Diego State would put the Falcons on the bubble.

Dayton at Saint Louis, Saturday, 2 p.m. (NBC Sports Network). This is a dangerous game for a Saint Louis team coming off a heady win over No. 9 Butler. Dayton might not be an at-large candidate, but the Flyers are pretty good.

Tennessee at Arkansas, Saturday, 4 p.m. (ESPN). Remember when the Vols and Razorbacks were potential NCAA Tournament teams? That was a long, long time ago.

Kentucky at Texas A&M, Saturday, 6 p.m. (ESPN). Remember when Texas A&M won at Kentucky behind 40 points from Elston Turner? That was a long, long time ago. A&M then lost four straight and then needed overtime to beat hapless Mississippi State this week.

Wyoming at Colorado State, Saturday, 7 p.m. (ROOT). Wyoming were 13-0 in non-conference play; if the Cowboys lose this one, they’ll be 2-6 in the Mountain West and completely off the NCAA Tournament bubble.

UNLV at Boise State, Saturday, 9 p.m. (Time Warner Cable SportsNet). Boise State was 12-2 in non-conference play; if the Broncos lose Saturday night, they’ll be 2-5 in Mountain West play and completely off the NCAA Tournament bubble. (Sound familiar? The MWC is brutal.)

Baylor at Iowa State, Saturday, 8 p.m. (ESPN2). This is another must-win game for Iowa State; the loss at Texas Tech last week cut the Cyclones’ margin for error to razor-thin proportions.

Arizona State at Washington, Saturday, 9 p.m. (ESPNU). Washington gave Arizona fits Thursday night, but the Huskies have lost four in a row. This is a game Arizona State should win.

Wisconsin at Illinois, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network). It’s almost impossible to believe how brutal Illinois’ schedule has been lately. The Fighting Illini are 2-6 in Big Ten play, and after Wisconsin, they have Indiana and Minnesota next on the docket. Just brutal.